Here and there

Our homeschool "not-back-to-school" party drew a pretty small crowd this year, perhaps in part because of how "chilly" it's been. The little hint of autumn didn't stop us from enjoying the pool, however! It was good to see so many of our friends—and to get to meet a few new families. 

My kids are all on the right side, front row. If you can spot Alexander in the florescent yellow-green top and blue shorts, Zoë is sitting one person over from him. Then there are two girls in blue swim suits, and then Phoebe is the second from the end.

The kids were super excited to snag some watermelon from another mom who was handing out slices. I tend to cut our watermelon up into cubes so I can throw away the rind all at once, so it was a real treat to have watermelon triangles!

The kids in Utah had a great day today! Here's Rachel settling in for her first day at work—a third-generation BYU Library employee. She said she worked for about 7 hours today. 

Meanwhile, my sister Kelline picked up Benjamin to take him on an adventure. I'm not sure where they ended up going—Midway Crater Hot Springs was full, so Kelli mentioned something about exploring a ghost town instead—but wherever it was, it involved some wilderness, so Benjamin gave it two thumbs up!

Their adventure also included ice cream...

And then they headed back to Provo to pick up Rachel and Miriam so they could go to Dreamwalk, which also got a thumb's up from Benjamin. 

Dreamwalk is an immersive/interactive art installation. It looks like it was pretty cool!

They headed back to my parents' house for pizza after. Here they are with Auntie K:

And here they are with Naanii and Auntie K (I assume Auntie Josie took these pictures—and managed not to get in any herself!):

After dinner Benjamin and Miriam said their goodbyes and my mom drove them down to Aunt Linda and Uncle Trevor's house—they'll leave for home tomorrow morning. 

Evidently, Rachel didn't shed a single tear when her siblings left (though the same can't necessarily be said about her siblings). I think because she had a such a soft landing in Utah. She had friends who wanted to see her (friends from Utah and friends from Georgia who are now living in Utah) and she was reminded that she had family surrounding her (she saw her great-grandparents, great-aunts and -uncles, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents). She got to tour her dorm building and meet her new boss, who is just wonderful, and I think she's excited for everything new that's happening. 

Miriam had a harder time saying goodbye, but I think she'll adjust to life away from Rachel just fine. 

I'll be happy to have Benjamin and Miriam home! Our house has been far too quiet!